International Journal on Open and Distance e-Learning

Google Analytics for User-Centered Design: A Case Study in Open And Distance e-Learning

Kamran Mir — 2023-10-27

Data analytics is one of the content analysis techniques which are being used in many disciplines to make informed decisions by understanding the existing data. In education, learning analytics is a very popular term that is used to measure and analyze the learner’s data to make appropriate improvements in learning and teaching designs. In this study, data generated from an online student support system is being analyzed with the help of Google Analytics in order to recommend key parameters for learner-centered application design. One year of data is being acquired and examined based on the learner’s parameters. In particular, design attributes have been proposed for future applications to make them learner-centered. The basic yet effective parameters such as geographic location, device, operating system, browser, and system language are analyzed, which provides insight into users’ preferences. This knowledge is used to build advanced personalized learner-centered applications.

Technology-Based Support of Final Year Bachelor of Education Students in a South African Open Distance e-Learning Institution

Lungelwa Phakathi — 2023-10-27

Throughput rates are a cause for concern across South African universities. Acceptance at university does not guarantee success for students, particularly the historically and economically disadvantaged majority. This challenge is exacerbated in Open Distance e-Learning institutions such as the University of South Africa (UNISA). Through a case study, this paper discusses key issues affecting students who were on the brink of completion, requiring one or two modules to complete their Bachelor of Education qualification at UNISA. The two hundred students who were part of the study were enrolled in the second-level English module, Genres in Literature and Language: Theory, Style and Poetics. The sampling was voluntary and purposeful from students in this module, who either sought assistance with the module content via email or who qualified for the FI Concession, which is an additional assessment opportunity for final-year students. The study identifies existing barriers to successful study using Keller’s (1987) ARCS Model of Motivation. It offers a glimpse of support efforts provided to these students using the myUnisa Learning Management System in combination with the WhatsApp application, short video podcasts, and NoRedInk. The latter is an online learning site that seeks to develop writing skills through grammar and writing activities. These digital platforms and resources were used as part of the Lecturer-in-the-Pocket (LiP) approach, which underpins the intervention. The success of this cohort provides another approach to improving throughput rates in Open Distance e-Learning institutions.

Online Laboratory Instruction as Alternative and Supplementary Mode: Students’ Assessment of the BS Agricultural Biotechnology Program

Reniel Pamplona — 2023-10-27

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit the education sector, the University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB) faculty started to tailor-fit their lectures and laboratory activities in the form of course packs to continue the delivery of various academic programs. The BS Agricultural Biotechnology (BS ABT) program is one of the courses in hard science that relies heavily on laboratory exercises. To assess the remote learning of the courses with laboratory exercises, BS ABT students were randomly surveyed to evaluate the effectiveness of their laboratory classes in the remote learning set-up. Based on the results, 94.5% of the BS ABT student-respondents were generally satisfied with the teaching style of the faculty, and implementation of the laboratory activities remotely. Experiments in all exercises were conducted synchronously and asynchronously through Google Classroom, and commonly accomplished with simplified experiments, simulations online, and supplemented by online videos via their personal laptops and smartphones. Regular synchronous meetings (96.4%) were religiously done every week with classes meeting once (49.1%), or twice (85.5%) a week. Ranking the three major courses of the ABT program that require laboratory exercises, ABT 104 (51%) obtained the highest satisfaction rating, followed by ABT 103 (47.3%), and ABT 106 (40%), respectively. Aside from ABT subjects with laboratory, Agriculture core subjects such as AGR21 (27.27%), AGR22 (27.27%), AGR31 (27.27%), AGR32 (27.27%), AGR41 (32.74%), AGR42 (23.64%), and AGR51 (20%) were the most enrolled courses. The findings of the present study serve as inputs in enhancing implementation of laboratory classes remotely in hard science particularly in the BS ABT program.

Boundless Classrooms and Touchless Bodies: Teaching Physical Education Online

Lydie Paderanga — 2023-10-27

This qualitative study explored the PE teachers’ experiences in teaching online during the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines. Using the phenomenological approach, it investigated the pedagogical practices, the educational theories that guided the participants, and their reflections and insights on teaching PE online. In order to describe the PE teachers’ pedagogical practices and perspectives regarding online teaching, the following research questions guided the study: (1) What are the daily instructional practices of the participating online PE teachers?; (2) What educational theories guided these participants in teaching online?; and (3) What are the perspectives and reflections of the participants in teaching PE online? Data collection methods for this case study included 1) interviews with online PE teachers, 2) virtual classroom observations and field notes, and 3) text messaging and e-mail communications between the researcher and the participants. Content and thematic analyses were used to interpret the results of the study. Results showed that teachers provided demonstration classes and allowed students to be creative in submitting their outputs. They practiced differentiated instruction, challenged the creativity of students and developed innovative ways of teaching PE online. They implicitly ascribed to Gardner’s multiple intelligence theory and Bandura’s Social Learning Theory. The results of this study supported the premise that online college PE can be taught online and is workable this time of pandemic.

A Conjoint Study and Segmentation on the Preferred Online Learning Attributes of Senior High School Learners

Junar Cano — 2023-10-27

The educational systems have been disrupted due to the COVID-19 pandemic that has resulted in the sudden shift in the instructional implementation from face-to-face to fully online distance learning. This quantitative study examined the learners’ socio-demographic characteristics and access to technological resources, preferred online learning attributes, and their segmentation. The study employed a descriptive and exploratory research design. Using Cochran's formula and disproportionate stratified random sampling technique, 300 senior high school learners were identified as respondents of the study. Five online learning attributes consisting of delivery type, lecture, learning tasks, learning materials, and assessment methods were analyzed through the orthogonal plan component of SPSS 22.0. Respondents voluntarily answered 16 profiles with 2 holdouts generated by the orthogonal design using an online 5-point Likert scale. The conjoint analysis revealed that learners' most preferred online learning attributes were assessment methods using multiple-choice and multiple types of exams; synchronous online lectures with slides as the delivery type; individual tasks; and learning materials utilizing visual aids. Further analysis revealed that learners, considering their preferences and profiles, could be classified into two segments based on grade level. Grade 12 learners comprised segment one, and Grade 11 dominated segment two. The results provide insights for academic institutions that learners in different grade levels differ in their learning preferences in an online setup and to reconsider the appropriate pedagogical activities to be utilized in an online learning setup to ensure educational advantage. Therefore, it would be ideal to redesign the curricula and innovate pedagogical approaches based on learners’ preferences and segmentation (grade level) to leverage learning in online education.

Towards an Age-friendly University: An Intergenerational Study among FICS-UPOU Graduates

Margaret Jarmin Suarez — 2023-10-27

In this study, the educational experience of graduates under the Faculty of Information and Communication Studies (FICS) for A.Y. 2017-2018 was assessed through an intergenerational lens. Respondents’ age range was categorized into three generations: Baby Boomers (1945-1965), Generation X (1966-1985), and the Millennials (1986-2005). A survey questionnaire was used to gather data on the respondents’ socio-demographic profile (age, gender, and employment status) and educational experience. Educational experience was assessed through five variables: relevance of curriculum, usefulness of the program, quality of instruction, effectiveness of online delivery, and current employability. Generational disaggregation of data was done before data analysis. Afterward, the collected data were analyzed using both descriptive and inferential statistics. Aside from measures of central tendency, the means test, Kruskal-Wallis test, and Spearman correlation were also used to determine the relationship between the respondents’ socio-demographic characteristics and educational experience. On average, the respondents found their UPOU learning experience to be quite positive – indicating an age-friendly curriculum flexible to the needs of different generation cohorts. Results showed that there was no association between gender and learning experience; and age group and learning experience. On the other hand, employment status was found to have a weak inverse correlation with two indicators: effectiveness of online delivery; and current employability. The results of the study presented implications for instructional design and improvement of online delivery to achieve an age-friendly university consistent with its lifelong learning philosophy.